"Numismatic Gladiator" IX (CoinCast vs. seanq)
lordmarcovan
Posts: 43,673 ✭✭✭✭✭
WELCOME TO NUMISMATIC GLADIATOR IX!
To see how the earlier competitions went, click here.
1. Both contestants agreed to purchase a single coin from the assigned category.
2. The coin had to cost no more than $25.00 US.
3. In order to avoid either contestant having an advantage, contestants agreed to buy their coins from the same public venue.
4. Shipping was not included in the $25.00 limit.
5. You can now vote on which coin you like best without knowing which coin belongs to whom. That will be revealed at the end.
6. The person whose coin receives the most votes gets bragging rights and a sigline trophy.
(And the cool coin they purchased, obviously.)
This cointest will run until midnight Eastern on Friday, September 2, 2016.
Vote for whichever coin appeals to you most.
This need not be the one that is more monetarily valuable. Catalog and/or retail value should be weighed into the decision, of course, but this cointest is about overall desirability - eye appeal, history, design, etc. It is much more about collecting fun than "investment" value.
The coins are presented here in chronological order, in similar sized images (though note that the actual coins themselves may differ widely in physical size).
Which do you like better?
COIN A: 1943 British India silver half-rupee, clipped planchet and partial collar error @ $4.25 from eBay.
NGC/Krause priceguide listing (for non-error coins)
COIN B: 19(70-83) Mexico 1-peso, major off-center error, @ $24.00 from eBay.
NGC/Krause priceguide listing (for non-error coins)
Hats off to our cointestants! May the "best" coin win!
To see how the earlier competitions went, click here.
1. Both contestants agreed to purchase a single coin from the assigned category.
2. The coin had to cost no more than $25.00 US.
3. In order to avoid either contestant having an advantage, contestants agreed to buy their coins from the same public venue.
4. Shipping was not included in the $25.00 limit.
5. You can now vote on which coin you like best without knowing which coin belongs to whom. That will be revealed at the end.
6. The person whose coin receives the most votes gets bragging rights and a sigline trophy.
(And the cool coin they purchased, obviously.)
This cointest will run until midnight Eastern on Friday, September 2, 2016.
Vote for whichever coin appeals to you most.
This need not be the one that is more monetarily valuable. Catalog and/or retail value should be weighed into the decision, of course, but this cointest is about overall desirability - eye appeal, history, design, etc. It is much more about collecting fun than "investment" value.
The coins are presented here in chronological order, in similar sized images (though note that the actual coins themselves may differ widely in physical size).
Which do you like better?
COIN A: 1943 British India silver half-rupee, clipped planchet and partial collar error @ $4.25 from eBay.
NGC/Krause priceguide listing (for non-error coins)
Message from the gladiator who bought Coin A:
Why I chose this coin: Even without an error, I feel British India coins of this era are very interesting and eye appealing. The coin has very intricate design elements both at the rim and on the edge, and I found the way the metal flow from the clip interacted with those elements to be uniquely fascinating. I am also drawn to error coins from the World War II era, in many countries (including the US) quality slipped and errors increased as focus was shifted to manufacturing for the war effort.
Why I chose this coin: Even without an error, I feel British India coins of this era are very interesting and eye appealing. The coin has very intricate design elements both at the rim and on the edge, and I found the way the metal flow from the clip interacted with those elements to be uniquely fascinating. I am also drawn to error coins from the World War II era, in many countries (including the US) quality slipped and errors increased as focus was shifted to manufacturing for the war effort.
COIN B: 19(70-83) Mexico 1-peso, major off-center error, @ $24.00 from eBay.
NGC/Krause priceguide listing (for non-error coins)
Message from the gladiator who bought Coin B:
I picked this coin because of general lack of Mexican coins in my collection. I felt like a world coin would be more interesting for this contest and looked at many different countries, but kept going back to Mexico. I wanted something with at least a partial date, but still a dramatic error and this coin fit the bill while still being a good value.
I picked this coin because of general lack of Mexican coins in my collection. I felt like a world coin would be more interesting for this contest and looked at many different countries, but kept going back to Mexico. I wanted something with at least a partial date, but still a dramatic error and this coin fit the bill while still being a good value.
Hats off to our cointestants! May the "best" coin win!
0
Comments
These are the factors I personally took into account:
Both coins appear to be very high grade examples (Choice AU+ if not UNC).
Coin A, the British India half-rupee:
Has a little bit of silver content (.500 fine/.0939 oz.)
*Gladiator A won his coin at auction. It was supposed to be Buy-It-Now, but since I don't think I was especially clear in that instruction, we won't count it as a foul.Was crazy-cheap and cost our gladiator less than 1/5 of the contest price limit*
Has a neat looking "security" edge (see eBay pictures)
With a diameter of 24 mm, it is a little bigger than a US nickel (21.21 mm)
Coin B, the Mexican peso:
Is a major error and much more visibly dramatic than the error on Coin A
Also has a cool design and is a popular type
Looks to have nice luster
Is a bigger coin; at 29 mm it is almost the size of a US half dollar (30.61 mm)
The category for the championship round is "anything goes" (ANY coin, medal, or token), but the price limit is tighter (only $10).
DPOTD-3
'Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery'
CU #3245 B.N.A. #428
Don
Choice Numismatics www.ChoiceCoin.com
CN eBay
All of my collection is in a safe deposit box!
The half rupee at that price with that error is very cool, but I'm leaning more towards the off center peso if only because of how dramatic the error is.
This did not lend itself well to showing additional pictures of the edge on the Indian coin, which is really the most interesting part.
So, for the benefit of Gladiator A, I will post the seller's edge pictures of that coin here:
I read the gladiators' descriptions.
I reminded myself of the rules and guidelines.
I voted for the Mexican.
THEN, when the poll results appeared, I noticed the prices paid. Wow. The biggest spread of any NG thus far, I believe.
The rupee is a lovely coin - in fact I have one in my collection. As a general rule, I do not find Mexican coins attractive. However, the error on that Mexican is huge in comparison and the name of this game is errors.
Amat Colligendo Focum
Top 10 • FOR SALE
Latin American Collection
Still, I voted for the half-rupee, mostly to give the underdog a boost.
Offered the chance in the real world to pick one or the other at the prices paid?
I dunno.
I will say that Mexican errors of the 1970s and '80s tend to be relatively common, and I once got a dramatic off-center 10-peso piece (one of those with the multi-sided shape) for less than ten bucks, but that was a steal. I do like the peso here, even if I personally would've sought one with a full date on the flan.
8 Reales Madness Collection
I did predict to Aethelred, long in advance of this being set up, that we'd almost certainly see a Mexican error coin in this round.
A couple of weeks before this came up, someone listed a slew of Egyptian errors with very low prices, but I suspect most of them are either counterfeit or had a lot of help coming into existence. There is also a seller who has a lot of modern errors from India, many of them were just above the price limit for the contest but it would not have shocked me to see one entered (in fact, there was a shattered die that fit the contest that was my fallback if I didn't win the coin above).
Sean Reynolds
"Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor
I did predict to Aethelred, long in advance of this being set up, that we'd almost certainly see a Mexican error coin in this round.
A couple of weeks before this came up, someone listed a slew of Egyptian errors with very low prices, but I suspect most of them are either counterfeit or had a lot of help coming into existence. There is also a seller who has a lot of modern errors from India, many of them were just above the price limit for the contest but it would not have shocked me to see one entered (in fact, there was a shattered die that fit the contest that was my fallback if I didn't win the coin above).
Sean Reynolds
I saw those Egyptian errors in the course of my own shopping for NG10. I wasn't sure if they were sketchy or not, but the pictures in the listings were pretty awful, as I recall.
My YouTube Channel
I don't see any evidence of the rupee being a partial collar? It's certainly got a security edge. What am I missing?
For the record, I personally don't know anything about partial collar errors, and was merely duplicating that information in the OP.
I don't see any evidence of the rupee being a partial collar? It's certainly got a security edge. What am I missing?
For the record, I personally don't know anything about partial collar errors, and was merely duplicating that information in the OP.
I have a feeling the seller used that term to describe the incomplete design on the rim, but in truth the coin was struck fully within the collar.
Sean Reynolds
"Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor
The Mexican error coin was triumphant, and that coin was purchased by...
CoinCast!
Please join me in congratulating CoinCast, but also in thanking seanq, who deserves credit for suggesting an error coin NG tournament.
Seanq, don't feel bad- I did not prevail in my first time in the arena, either. And you are heartily encouraged to take up another NG challenge, for a shot at redemption! Maybe even error coins again sometime.
CoinCast, here is your virtual trophy. Should you decide to display it in your sigline, wear it with pride.
Now, I hope you're shopping for NG10, because you're now being invited to face off against the other champions for a shot at the eagle trophy in the championship round!
Should you decline to participate, your place in NG10 goes to your former opponent, so either way, one of you should be going right back into the ring with a $10 purchase!
Partner @Gold Hill Coin
